If this turns out to be correct, Israel should, in my opinion, suspend all movement towards Palestinian independence:

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - The ruling Fatah party will lose its parliamentary majority in the Palestinian election and win just five more seats than the radical Islamist movement Hamas, a poll forecast said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060124...e_060124120549

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)

This has been predicted for a long time. Which really complicates things, with the Palestinian people electing a group we consider terrorist in free elections.

It was pretty much inevitable. Fatah was so corrupt it had to lose ground, and Hamas was the only alternative.

Yet another example of how the world is built out of shades of gray, no matter how fervently we try to draw in black and white.

On the optimistic side, Hamas has pledged to leave Abbas in control of negotiations with Israel. Perhaps this election will draw them further into the political process and away from violence.

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Man up.